Combined Nomenclature

When declared to customs in the Community, goods must generally be classified according to the Combined Nomenclature (CN). Imported and exported goods have to be declared stating under which subheading of the nomenclature they fall. This determines which rate of customs duty applies and how the goods are treated for statistical purposes. The CN is a method for designating goods and merchandise which was established to meet the requirements of the Common Customs Tariff and of the external trade statistics of the Community.

The Combined Nomenclature of the European Union (EU) integrates the HS Nomenclature and comprises additional 8-digit subdivisions and legal notes specifically created to address the needs of the Community. The Harmonized System (HS) is run by the World Customs Organisation. This systematic list of commodities forms the basis for international trade negotiations and is applied by most trading nations. The Nomenclature governed by the Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, commonly known as "HS Nomenclature", is an international multipurpose nomenclature which was elaborated under the auspices of the World Customs Organization (WCO).It is applied by many administrations worldwide, mostly to set up their national customs tariff and for the collection of economic statistical data. The HS Nomenclature comprises about 5,000 commodity groups which are identified by a 6-digit code and arranged according to a legal and logical structure based on fixed rules.